Chapter 8: Singapore

Yukari flopped down into the padded chair with a heavy sigh as she removed her ID badge from her shirt, her dinner tray filled with much needed sustenance by the hospital kitchen staff. Becoming a pediatric nurse had been her dream, yes. And it had proven to be very rewarding these past few years.

Still though, it was days like this where she wished things could be a little easier.

"Everything okay, Yukari?"

Yukari looked up to see Mina walking into the break room with her own dinner tray, a big smile on her face despite the gargantuan amount of sweat pouring off her brow. Yukari chuckled. It had been many years since they'd first met in middle school, and yet Mina's positivity never faded. Even with all the stress of their job weighing them down.

"Yes, I'm fine Mina," Yukari answered, gesturing to the open chair across from her. "Wanna sit with me?"

"Sure!" Mina replied, sitting down and digging into her tray with a big smile. "So, how did things go today?"

"Oh, the usual. Difficult parents. It took thirty minutes to get one kid to take one vaccine. Which in turn caused me to be delayed for my other appointments. You know how it is."

"Was it that same kid from last week who somehow got a paper cut on top of his head?" Mina asked between bites.

"No no, that was someone different," Yukari laughed. It was moments like this with her longtime friend that made the stress of the workweek more bearable.

With both of them being done for the day, Yukari and Mina took some time to enjoy their meal and make some small talk. At one point, Mina pulled out her phone and navigated to the Instagram page of their other friend from middle school, Sanae.

"Oh! It looks like Sanae will be going to the Olympics again this year!" Mina announced, showing Yukari their friend's most recent post.

"Track star as always!" Yukari praised. "I just wish we got to see her more often. It's been a while since all three of us were able to hang out together."

"Yeah, I know," Mina sighed. "Hopefully she'll be able to pay us a visit soon."

"Oh, did you hear?" Yukari piped up. "Hojo and her husband Hamaguchi are due for their third child next month!"

"That's amazing! Is Hamaguchi still a police officer?"

"I believe so, yes," Yukari said. "I remember he entered with the police academy with our other classmate...what was his name? Oh yes, Nishikata."

"Right, him," Mina nodded as she took a gander at the news headlines on her phone. She stopped short, and Yukari saw her friend's face take on a look of surprise.

"Mina? What is it?"

Mina showed her friend the headline, and now it was Yukari's turn to gasp.

"Agent Nishikata of the US Specialized Forensics Division single-handedly puts down an entire trafficking ring," Yukari read. "My goodness! I can't help but feel like we've heard this about him quite a few times now...how often does he go on missions like this?"

"It must be pretty often," Mina shrugged. "I guess he felt it was calling or something."

"Didn't he start looking into that career path in seventh-grade year?"

"Hm, yeah, I think you're right," Mina agreed. "I remember Takagi sat next to him, but that year was the year she—"

Mina cut herself off as she and Yukari exchanged a solemn look. They hadn't been close friends with Takagi, no. But still...her untimely, unexplainable death had taken its toll on all of them.

Yukari felt her phone vibrate, and saw her husband's name on the caller ID. Answering it, she informed him that she'd already eaten dinner with Mina and that she'd be heading home soon.

"I need to get going, but thanks for catching up, Mina," Yukari smiled. "See you tomorrow!"

"Yup, see ya!"

.......................................

Nishikata's expression remained stoic as he watched the police officers escort former mafia boss Heather Raven to the back of the squad car. The sirens atop the cop cars decorated the elementary school in flashes of red and blue light, and helicopters roared overhead. News trucks had already arrived on the scene, and Nishikata couldn't help but resent the incessant rambling of the reporters. The fact that a couple of them had tried to shove a microphone in his face didn't help.

On the surface, no one would've suspected this elementary school located in the Virginia suburbs to be a front for human trafficking. But an anonymous tip from a local, forwarded to the SDF by the local police department, had led to Nishikata being assigned to investigate the matter and cleanse the neighborhood of the unlawful filth once they were discovered.

As per usual, he'd been given the authorization to eliminate the threats by any means necessary. And now, only a short thirty-minute battle later, all fifty of Heather Raven's pathetic goons had been silenced by Nishikata's pistols.

He'd accomplished his mission and rid the earth of more criminal scum. What else did these blasted news outlets need to know?

Just then, Nishikata heard his earpiece beep three times, and pressed it down to receive the message upon finding a quiet place.

"Well done, Agent Nishikata," Kimura's voice sounded over the earpiece. "HQ is ready for you to return and give your report."

"Very well," Nishikata replied. Then, he paused.

"Wait," he said. "By any chance, are there any slots open for overseas missions?"

There was brief silence on the other end before Kimura spoke.

"Not that I'm aware of. Why?"

"Check if there are," Nishikata said, not wanting to hint at where he wanted to go lest he get his hopes up.

Once again, there was a period of silence on the other end of the earpiece. Then, Kimura came back online.

"It seems we have one opportunity open in Singapore, and you'd be doing a joint mission with another agent," Kimura informed him. "You probably remember him from your FBI class. Agent Oliver?"

Singapore. Perfect. Exactly what Nishikata wanted.

"Yes, I do," Nishikata replied flatly. "What's the assignment?"

"To put it simply, our ally across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom, has suspicions that the Prime Minister of Singapore is making plans to betray his alliance to them," Kimura explained. "Being that Singapore is also a US ally, the FBI and SFD also had their eyes on this guy as well. If he has ties to any criminals or spies here in the US, that would be good enough reason for us to bring him in."

"I see. I'll take the job."

"Alright, give me just a minute," Kimura replied. Nishikata overheard the sound of Kimura's incessant typing on the keyboard, then a final click as Kimura confirmed the assignment with their superiors.

"You're all set, Agent Nishikata," Kimura informed him. "Have fun in Sinagpore."

.....................................

One international flight and cab ride later, Nishikata found himself walking through the bustling streets of Singapore. As was standard procedure for agents going on an overseas mission, Nishikata was clothed in attire that helped him blend into the local populace. With his gray sneakers, light blue jeans and red polo shirt, Nishikata couldn't help but feel vulnerable.

No need to worry too much though.

Both the FBI and the CEA had connections everywhere. His weapons case and other gear would be arriving at the hotel soon enough.

Checking his wristwatch—a disguised communication device—he saw the message from Agent Oliver as to where they were meeting. Replying that he was on his way, Nishikata utilized the GPS feature and made sure to look over his shoulder frequently as he walked to Oliver's location.

Sure enough, Nishikata found the entrance to the café, and saw a man dressed in an outfit similar to his, topped by a blue baseball cap. As Nishikata made his way over and sat down, Oliver slid over a glass of tea to him in a casual manner.

"Hello there, old friend!" Oliver smiled. "Been quite a while, ay? How has Uncle Sam been treating you?"

Nishikata only grunted in reply as he sipped the tea.

"Still the top comedian from our class I see," Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Humor doesn't put criminals into the ground. Bullets do."

"Blimey Nishikata, I'm only joking!"

"Nice to see you too, Oliver," Nishikata muttered, sipping the tea again. "Any other details I need to know?"

"Not yet," Oliver whispered, nudging Nishikata's side.

Nishikata knew what that meant. If the Prime Minister was indeed a corrupt dirtbag, he most definitely had spies out in the public reporting back to him.

For a moment, Nishikata almost cursed himself for being so careless.

"Let's get a ride back, ay?" Oliver said. "It's on me."

The cab ride to the hotel that Oliver had booked passed through by some very exquisite scenery, but nothing that Nishikata cared for. He was here to do one thing, and one thing only.

This mission just provided him a perfect cover.

Upon arriving to their third floor room, Oliver told Nishikata he could make himself comfortable while he paid a visit to the hot tub on the first floor.

"Never know what type of intel you can get from the most ordinary places," Oliver said. "Besides, there are some quite fine ladies down there if you know what I mean."

"I'll keep watch over the room," Nishikata nodded, not even acknowledging his fellow agent's quip.

The hotel room was a lot more upscale than other hotels Nishikata had stayed in, with freshly polished wooden dressers, a spacious bathroom, and a navy-blue lamp decorated with white pearls sitting atop the nightstand. Nishikata knelt down by the bed on the left side of the room, and checked underneath.

The good news? His weapons case was there.

The bad news? He had just turned his back to the window.

The window behind him suddenly shattered, and Nishikata rolled to the right, covering his head with his hands. A firm thunk! sounded where he'd kneeled only moments before, followed by a blood-curdling scream from something that Nishikata quickly discerned was not human. How did he know?

He'd heard it before.

Many years ago.

Nishikata got to his feet just as the Demon Elf came flying in, drop kicking him square in the chest and sending him rolling over the bed. Nishikata was not about to go down so easily though, and managed to land on his feet as he assumed a defensive stance. The Demon Elf just grinned, delighted to have the advantage as he readied another arrow.

"You're luck is at an end, oh naughty Nishikata!" the Demon Elf jeered as he shot the arrow at Nishikata's head at point blank range.

The Demon Elf gasped.

Even at that range...Nishikata had still managed to dodge the arrow and grab it in midair.

Not giving his opponent a chance to react, Nishikata leapt over the bed in one swift motion and trapped the Demon Elf in an arm barracle, relieving him of his bow and pinning him to the ground. The little nuisance writhed and clawed at Nishikata, but he could feel his lungs running out of air quickly as Nishikata tightened his hold.

Then, the Demon Elf felt himself being freed, and looked up to see Nishikata's hulking body looming over him.

"Run back to your leader. Tell him I fear no monster and to come alone next time."

The Demon Elf made one last lunge for his bow, only to have Nishikata plant his foot on his skinny ankle and twist it, breaking the bone with a loud crack! Again, the Demon Elf screamed as he struggled under the power of Nishikata, before finally abandoning the fight and flying out of the window in a great frenzy.

Nishikata watched with his stoic gaze as the Demon Elf flew off in an erratic, frantic manner.

The creature hadn't noticed the tiny tracking beacon that had been placed on his left ankle.

Good.

Nishikata was now one step closer to accomplishing his mission.